Category: 1st XV

SEVENOAKS 14 CANTERBURY 27

by David Haigh

Canterbury lead the early National 2 East table with maximum points after a Kent derby victory which was set up in a dominant first half. At the break the city side were nineteen points clear and well in control but then had to dig in as Sevenoaks dominated possession and won the second half try count by two to one. That said, the result never looked seriously in doubt as Canterbury’s defence passed most of the tests and a breakout ten minutes from the end brought a bonus point try which sealed the result. They seized the initiative early in the game and scrum half Presley Farrance rewarded his forwards pressure by sniping over for the opening try after only twelve minutes. With ‘Oaks on the back foot the situation was ripe for exploitation but Canterbury’s biggest obstacle was their own lack of focus. Too often they lost the ball in contact and an over-anxious back line lacked fluency. A yellow card for home skipper Scott Sedgwick on the half hour, however, opened the way for a second try as wing Garry Jones joined a powerful rolling maul to make the touchdown. It wasn’t until the final minute of the half that another score came and again it was the pack that did the spadework before Chad Thomas plunged over for his first try for the club. Reynolds slotted a second conversion but there was a feeling that the team had left points out there. That became plainer as Sevenoaks began to get a strong foothold in the game but were never clinical enough to make best use of their possession. One the few clean line breaks of the afternoon was then made by city captain Jamie Stephens but the try went begging for want of a final pass and Canterbury had to settle for a Reynolds penalty goal. After that it was mostly a matter of containment. Sedgwick registered the home side’s first try, converted by George Montgomery, after 60 minutes, but even though Kurt Heatherley was sin binned Canterbury found a positive reply and an overhead pass saw Sam Rogers canter over unopposed. The closing minutes belonged to Oaks but their only success was Sedgwick’s second converted try, from a driving maul, when the game was beyond their reach.

Canterbury: H.Young, M.Campbell, A.Moss, F.Morgan, G.Jones, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.Stephens, C.Thomas, H.Furneaux, T.Oliver. Replacements: O.Frostick, S.Rogers, N.Morris, K.Heatherley, T.Williams,

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

CANTERBURY 53 COLCHESTER 13

by David Haigh

This thumping victory gave Canterbury an ideal start to the new National 2 East league season. They dominated all areas as they crushed the league newcomers with a blast of seven tries. Although Head Coach Matt Corker said afterwards that there is still work to do he has plenty of talent at his disposal as he looks to smooth any rough edges. The city side’s forwards quickly took control and thirteen points in the first twenty minutes, through Cameron Macmillan’s catch and drive try and a conversion and two Frank Reynolds penalty goals, set the pattern. A Corey Button penalty goal put Colchester on the scoreboard but they were soon learning that life at a higher level will need serious adjustment. Their failure to contain a vibrant Canterbury backs division cost them dearly as Aiden Moss and Garry Jones scored converted tries to push the lead out to 27-3 at half time. The punishment was piled on early in the second half as two expertly marshalled catch and drives brought hooker Eoin O’Donoghue, who enjoyed an outstanding a game, a brace of tries. Colchester’s best spell was born of their ability to read Canterbury errors and a couple of unwise passes were intercepted to give the visitors rare attacking territory. Tries from Mike Stanway and Leroy O’Neil brought them temporary relief but in the last quarter it was business as usual for Canterbury. Frank Morgan sold a neat dummy to get his side’s sixth try and and a brilliant individual effort from replacement scrum half Tom Williams, which started in his own half, rounded off this impressive performance. Eighteen points from the boot of Reynolds, six conversions and two penalty goals, set last season’s top league points scorer firmly on his way once again.
Canterbury: H.Young, G.Jones, A.Moss, F.Morgan, M.Campbell, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.Stephens, C.Thomas, H.Furneaux, T.Oliver. Replacements: N.Morris, O.Frostick, S.Rogers, T.Williams. K.Heatherley

CANTERBURY12 BLACKHEATH 41

by David Haigh

The power and pace of a Blackheath side which won this Friday night pre-season encounter by seven tries to two was a reminder of the standards required at higher levels of the game. The National Division One side bossed the breakdown, were ruthless with the catch and drive, which accounted for three of their tries, two of which were converted, and served up the clean ball on which their back division thrived. It was not, however, all one way traffic. Canterbury had their moments but when they created chances lacked the accuracy to turn them into points. Blackheath opened a seventeen point lead before the city side got things right, handled quickly and sent Garry Jones over for the try. The visitors hit back before the break with a converted touchdown and their forwards were in charge for crucial periods of the second half. The positives for Canterbury in those second forty minutes were that they matched ‘Heath in the set scrums and were unfailingly brave in defence but the visitors still added three more scores. Consolation came in the final play when scrum half Tom Williams, who minutes earlier had made a stunning break, finished off some good work by the backs with a try converted by Frank Reynolds.

CANTERBURY 34 SEVENOAKS 21

by David Haigh

Canterbury ended their league campaign in positive style with this bonus point victory which sealed a seventh place finish in National 2 East. The season’s biggest crowd watched the city club take charge of the first half, ride out a Sevenoaks challenge in the final quarter and send their Kent rivals home empty handed. Three of Canterbury’s four tries came in the first forty minutes and it was the back division that brought a touch of flair to all of them. Frank Morgan got the first after only seven minutes, the centre cantering under the posts when wing Alfie Orris slipped into the line to carve out the gap. A sin binning for flanker Harvey Furneaux might have put a damper his side’s ambitions, but not a bit of it and they scored again. A great turnover over by Tom Mackenzie forced a scrum on the Oaks’ 22 metre line and scrum half Presley Farrance sold the sweetest of dummies to the visitors back row before sprinting over. Sevenoaks hard hardly been seen as an attacking threat but five minutes before the break they took their chance when Canterbury lost possession and a loose ball gave them field position. They forced a five metre scrum then mounted a series of close range drives before Matt McCrae crashed over and Ben Adams converted. That lapse stung Canterbury into the swiftest of replies as they won the ball at the restart, launched the backs and it was Morgan’s show and go that brought him a second try. The league’s top points scorer, Frank Reynolds, landed his third conversion and in the final minute of the half added a penalty goal to open a 24-7 lead. Things got even better just three minutes after the break when the city backs ran the ball from deep, put Orris into space and he stormed home, swatting aside defenders in a spectacular 50 metre run. With another Reynolds conversion and a bonus point in their pocket Canterbury may have thought the job was done and they lost concentration. As they failed to look after the ball it gave Sevenoaks fresh momentum and they punished the home side for their shortcomings. Two tries from centre Barney Stone, both converted by Adams, could have been the prelude to an upset in those last 20 minutes but the city side settled again, albeit uneasily, until a final Reynolds penalty goal gave them back control.

Canterbury; W.Hilton (repl T.Best), G.Jones, F.Morgan, W.Waddington, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance (repl B.Cooper), C.Macmillan (repl D.Huntley), E.O’Donoghue, E.Lusher, C.Murray (repl S.Kerry), J.De Vries, T.Mackenzie (repl N.Morrris), H.Furneaux, J.Stephens

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton